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History Of Arabic Music Essay Research Paper

History Of Arabic Music Essay, Research Paper


Arabic music is my favorite musical styling.


Although I have come to enjoy classical and contemporary styling as well,


Arabic music has almost an innate quality of enjoyment for me. Its


songs speak of the life and culture of Arabic countries and its melody


is not commonly heard on American radio stations. Its songs tell


the story of the Arabic people, people who are similar to Americans but


also different in many ways. The songs are a romantic and wonderful


inspiration to me while living and studying in America.


The tradition of Arabic music has been


cultivated throughout Arab regions for thousands of years. Although it


has undergone many changes over the centuries, it has retained certain


distinctive traits.


The Arabic music tradition developed in


the courts of dynasties in the Islamic empire from the 7th century to the


13th century. It flourished during the Umayyad dynasty in the 7th


century and 8th century in Syria. Great performers were drawn to Baghdad,


now the capital of Iraq, under such rulers as Harun ar-Rashid, who was


a patron of the musical arts during the late 700s.3


The cities of the Islamic empire, from


Spain across North Africa and throughout the Middle East, boasted many


fine musicians. These early musicians were often composers and poets as


well as performers. Although the major writings on Arab music appeared


after the spread of Islam in the beginning of the 7th century, the music


tradition had already begun. Before the spread of Islam, Arab music incorporated


music traditions of the Sassanid dynasty (224-641) in Persia and the early


Byzantine empire (4th century to 6th century) and of sung poetry from the


Arabian Peninsula.3 Arabic-speaking scholars also studied the treatises


of ancient Greek philosophers on music. Music theorists of the 10th century


and 11th century, such as al-Farabi and Avicenna, produced their own theories


of music based on what they had learned from the Greeks and on the music


of their own times. Greek works translated by the Arab scholars were later


studied by European scientists and philosophers.


Melody and Rhythm


Arabic music is created using unharmonized


melodic and rhythmic systems. Arabic melodies draw from a vast array of


models, or melodic modes, known as maqamat. Arabic books on music include


as many as 52 melodic modes, of which at least 12 are commonly used.3 These


modes feature more tones than are present in the Western musical system,


including notably smaller intervals that are sometimes called microtones,


or half-flats and half-sharps. Arabic melodies frequently use the augmented


second interval, an interval larger than those of most Western melodies.3


The sound of Arabic music is richly melodic and offers opportunity for


subtle nuance and creative variation.


The rhythmic structure of Arabic music


is similarly complex. Rhythmic patterns have up to 48 beats and typically


include several downbeats (called dums) as well as upbeats (called taks)


and silences, or rests.3 To grasp a rhythmic mode, the listener must hear


a relatively long pattern. Moreover, the performers do not simply play


the pattern; they elaborate upon and ornament it. Often the pattern is


recognizable by the arrangement of downbeats.


In Arab tradition, good musicians offer


something new in each performance by varying and improvising on known pieces


or models in a fashion similar to that of jazz musicians. The inventions


of musicians can be lengthy, extending ten-minute compositions into hour-long


performances that bear only a skeletal resemblance to the models. The inventions


of the musician traditionally depend upon the response of the audience.


Listeners are expected to react during the performance, either verbally


or with applause. Quiet is interpreted as disinterest or dislike. The audience


members, in this tradition, are active participants in determining the


length of the performance and in shaping the piece of music by encouraging


musicians to either repeat a section of the piece or to move to the next


section.


Modern Era


Born of the cultures of

the Arab World


stretching from Morocco in the west to Iraq in the east, Arabic music is


becoming popular world-wide. It is made up of an astonishing variety


of folk, classical, and popular musical traditions. Many of these have


survived for centuries, reflecting the musical sensibilities of the ancient


world as well as the Middle Ages.


While each region within the Arab World


has its distinctive styles, commonalities of instrumentation, modal structure,


rhythmic patterns, performance techniques, and lyric content extend across


the area, forming a fascinating weaving of artistic tradition that changes


and evolves while remaining true to its ancient heritage. In the


last decades a growing global audience has come to appreciate the richness


of this music.


The global audience is hungry for information


about these traditions, their history, the playing techniques and theories


behind them, as well as news about performances, recordings, and concerts.


Listeners, performers and students rely on word of mouth to keep current


on Arabic music news. This is due to the fact that it is primarily


distributed through smaller recording labels, and since performances occur


outside the mainstream concert circuits.


Arabic Song and its English Translation1


?Sawah? (Vagabond)


What follows is a translation


into English of the song lyrics for Sawah. Also, there is a transliteration


into the Roman alphabet of the original Arabic lyrics. This song was first


popularized by Abdel Halim Hafez.


Lyrics2


Arabic Lyrics1


English Translation2


Sawah, wei mashee feil beilaad,


sawah


Vagabond, and walking between countries,


vagabond


Weil khatwa beinee wei bein habibee


barah


And the step between me and my beloved


[is] big


Meish war bei-eed, wana feeh gareeh


A long journey, and I’m wounded


from it


Weil leil yei-arab, weil nahar rawah


And the night approaches, and the


day goes


Chorus:


Wein laakom habibee, saleimulee


alei


And if you see my beloved, say “Hello”


to him [her]


Tameinuneel asmaranee, amla eil


el ghorba fee


Reassure me: how is my brown-looking


girl doing so far away


Sawah, wana mashee layalee


Vagabond, I’m walking all night


Sawah, walla daree bhalee


Vagabond, not knowing what I’m doing


Sawah, meil for-a ya ghalee


Vagabond, and the separation, oh


my dear


Sawah, eih elee garalee


Vagabond, what has happened to me?


Weisneen, weisneen wana dayeib bsho’


wei haneen


And years, years, and I’m melting


in loneliness and tenderness


Ayeiz a-araf bass taree-u meinein


I want to know just where is his


[her] road


Repeat Chorus:


Ya eounee, ah ya eounee,


My eyes, oh my eyes


Eih garalak fein enta, wei bta-meil


eih


What has happened to you and what


are you doing?


Ya znounee, ah ya znounee mat seibounee


My worries, oh my worries, leave


me alone


Meish naaeis ana heer aleil


I’m worried enough about him [her]


Lana areif ar-taah, wana ta-yeih


sawaah


Neither can I rest, and I’m lost


like a vagabond


Repeat Chorus:


Ya amar ya naseenee


Oh moon, who is forgetting me?


Raseenee alee ghayeib


Take me to the absent one


Nawarlee, wareenee, seikeit el habayeib


Enlighten me, show me the road to


the beloved


Waseitak, weiseiya, ya shaheid alaya


I’ve made you promise, you who witnessed


Teikeelu alei beiya


To tell him [her] of my state


Weilee aseito blayaleiya


And what I’ve suffered during my


nights.


Endnotes


1. Goodyear, Amina. Sawah


- song compositional elements. 1996.


2. Ibrahim, Nicole. Sawah


- song translation, transliteration. 1996.


3. Nassen, Abdul. Arabic


Music and Its Cultural Influences. New York: Penguin Books, 1994.

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